


a secret

by syn0dic



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Camping, F/F, Fishing, a little friendly but enough banter for me to count it as shipping bc i like leogard actually, ill ship leonie w any girl tbh, short jokes, this was a lovely ko-fi commission <3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28740777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syn0dic/pseuds/syn0dic
Summary: leonie and edelgard are out on scouting duty, and leonie shows edelgard how to catch her own dinner. short, sweet, and a little toothy.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Leonie Pinelli, Edelgard von Hresvelg/Leonie Pinelli
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	a secret

The sun was little more than a bronze sphere as it sank below the mountains, the towering pines seeming to scrape it as it made its descent and the moon, halfway hung above them in the blue sky, gazed on. It was quiet. It was always quiet on evenings like this, Leonie thought, where the scouts made camp. Too much noise, and you lost your surroundings in a haze of voices, but the quiet sometimes unnerved her too. She was a hunter, and five years a lone mercenary, but even so, there was a certain comfort to human voices, even from a companion she might not have known well.

A little conversation couldn’t hurt, could it?

“So how about scouting duty?” Leonie glanced over at the emperor of Adrestia, the overnight pack on her own shoulders shifting with her head.

“What of it?” said Edelgard, her silvery hair as vivid as quartz in the dim light. She had shed the regalia of the battlefield for a simple uniform, and without the capes and frills, Leonie almost would have thought her ordinary.

“I mean, it’s… It’s a nice night.”

Edelgard paused. “Yes, it is.”

“You haven’t been on scout duty before, have you?”

“Not since the academy days, actually,” said Edelgard, looking around at the blanket of leaves and moss and stone below them. “I believe the last time was Horsebow Moon.”

“It’s been that long?” Leonie glanced over at her, citrine eyes wide. “Geez. Well, I guess you aren’t quite scout material--”

“I beg your pardon?” A competitive glint lit in Edelgard’s eyes.

“We’re usually archers is all,” said Leonie. “Not that you’re not talented! It’s just-- we have to have some range. The schedule circulates around and all.”

“Range?” Edelgard paused. “I can throw axes.” Leonie paused, and laughed, as warm as a campfire, and Edelgard turned to her. “What’s funny about axes?”

“Nothing,” said Leonie with a snort. “It’s just that scouts usually hunt their own dinners. What were you planning to do? Throw an axe at a quail or something?”

“I wasn’t aware of that,” said Edelgard, deflating. “I suppose I’ll be going hungry tonight then.”

“Huh?” Leonie looked at her. “No, no, it’s fine. You can have whatever I catch.”

“Leonie, it is not right for me to take your food.”

“Yeah, but I’m freely offering it. I don’t mind.” She smiled, turning around to walk backwards, her bright ginger hair rustling in the breeze. “Do you like fish?”

“Sometimes,” said Edelgard hesitantly.

“Good,” said Leonie with a smile. “It’s trout season. So when we get there,” she said, shifting the bag higher up on her shoulders, “you and I are going fishing.”

“Fishing?” Edelgard raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah,” said Leonie, her hands behind her head. “You’ve gone fishing before, haven’t you?”

“It would be a first for me, actually,” she said, and for a moment, Leonie could almost swear she seemed to shrink like a violet.

“Well, it’s not hard to learn,” said Leonie, “and most of the fun of fishing is just sitting with your line cast, really.”

“I thought the point of fishing was to catch fish?” said Edelgard.

“Well, that’s the point,” said Leonie, “but the real reason you go fishing is to have some peace and quiet.”

“I see,” said Edelgard, hesitant. “So how can we tell when we’ve reached the campsite?”

“There’s a cairn,” said Leonie. “Some of the knights of Seiros had been using this spot before the war, and they marked it out.”

“Then are we sure it’s safe?” Edelgard glanced over at her hesitantly.

“Well, let’s put it like this. The people I know who knew about it, are either dead, or they’re on our side.”

A silence settled over the two of them, and Edelgard bit back a word or two, before finally settling on, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” said Leonie, though Edelgard could tell by the look on her face that she already knew.

“For the people you’ve lost,” she said plainly. “Hilda, too.”

“Things like that…” Leonie paused. “In my line of work, you learn that sometimes, things aren’t personal. They’re part of business. It’s not to say that losing people doesn’t hurt. But you realize that the reason you lost them, isn’t personal.”

Edelgard was quiet for a few moments as they walked, and they passed the cairn. Leonie set down their things, but it was clear that the both of them were thinking. Leonie pulled out her fishing rod and tackle box. Tucking their supplies under a tarp and behind a rock, she glanced at Edelgard, who seemed lost in thought as she inspected the site.

“This way,” said Leonie.

“The river we’re fishing in,” said Edelgard. “It’s not too deep, is it?”

“Nah,” said Leonie. “Just a creek, really. I don’t think it comes up past my knees.”

“I don’t know how reassuring that is to me,” said Edelgard placidly.

“Did you just...make a short joke?” Leonie cracked a smile.

“If you tell Hubert I finally admitted I’m--” said Edelgard fiercely.

“It’s a secret then,” said Leonie, striding easily down to the embankment that snaked through the undergrowth. A secret.

The creek was a secret, too, thought Leonie. Back when she was at the Academy, back when Jeralt was alive and still her mentor-- this creek had been her secret. She sat cross legged on the side of the embankment, and Edelgard stood beside her.

“Here,” said Leonie, handing the rod up to her. “What you do is, you just let the reel out, draw it back, then cast.” Edelgard nodded, and though her cast was a little sloppy, they sat in silence, as the creek flowed past them, the crickets only just beginning to chirp.

“I think I understand now,” said Edelgard. “This is nice.”


End file.
